Chapter 34 – Pleasant Bonus

Chapter 34 – Pleasant Bonus

Two days had passed since the battle in which we had barely survived. Honestly, I did almost nothing. Rhem bore the full weight of the fight.

Her plan from the start was simple yet brilliant — use my Training Room skill to restore mana between summons. She would step outside for just a few seconds, summon new golems, and immediately return, wasting not a single moment. Between the monster waves, she managed to repeat this seven or eight times, until the battlefield was gradually filled with her stone giants.

I had thought Rhem’s plan was for us to just hide there. Yeah… But if we had done that, the other adventurers would likely have died. And those monsters would have broken free, killing countless more people. The fact that my first instinct had been to simply wait out the danger made it clear just how cowardly I really was. Well, enough self-pity — it is what it is. Yes, that’s me. It’s hard for a person to change overnight… or maybe change at all? Anyway, no point in dwelling on it.

The silver lining was that I learned something new about my Training Room skill. I could send someone inside, and if they stayed there, they could live for months. And if they fell asleep, they wouldn’t get thrown out like I would. Why is it that I, the skill’s owner, get ejected the moment I doze off? Damn it — someone else can sleep there, but I can’t. If I could, I’d stockpile food and spend decades inside, training and growing stronger — becoming immensely powerful in just a couple of months in the real world. But no, the moment I fall asleep, I get tossed out. That’s unfair.

Wait… something about this idea feels wrong.

If a couple of months pass in the real world, and time moves one hundred times faster in the Training Room… then that’s already two hundred months. That’s more than sixteen years!

And if time runs one hundred and fifty times faster… that’s twenty-five years. Damn… That would be terrible. Sure, I’d be stronger… but I’d come out an old man. In my fifties… maybe even sixties.

A couple of sleepless days passed, every five minutes stepping into the Training Room to bring Rhem out, only to send her right back in. Every five minutes. At first it was easy, but soon I began falling asleep on my feet. And tracking time… that became torture. It was hard to tell how much time had really passed. I think I was late many times — sometimes it would be just over five minutes, sometimes even ten. After all, I didn’t have a watch. I wonder… do watches even exist in this world? Could I buy one if I searched?

Yesterday we returned to the city. Rhem immediately declared that we’d rest for four or five days and then return to the dungeon. I was ready for that plan — but then Sherial stepped in. She firmly said we needed at least ten days to fully recover.

Rhem, of course, disagreed, but Sherial didn’t back down, hammering her point in with sheer stubbornness. And so I ended up with at least ten days — ten days I could put to good use.

And since I had no choice, I was going to use this time to rack up as much experience as possible.

Although, to be honest, I didn’t want to go back to the dungeon at all. But I shouldn’t give in to fear. I had to beat it, or it would take root and only grow stronger.

A pleasant bonus. Yes, there was another pleasant bonus. When the battle ended, the system rewarded me with about two hundred million experience points. Actually, a little more. It seemed that Rhem had gained an enormous amount of XP when her golems slaughtered so many monsters, and part of it was passed on to me — likely as a reward for her using my Training Room skill to summon such an army.

Well, that was nice. Here’s what my status window looked like at the time:

Name: Alisar
Level: 91 (0 out of 52,000,000)
Rank: 4

HP: 19,850 + 1,920
MP: 48,500 + 6,720
Strength: 679 + 64
Defense: 652 + 64
Speed: 654 + 64
Intellect: 1,630 + 224
Magic Power: 1,613 + 224
Magic Defense: 1,623 + 224

Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills: —
Special Skills:
— Training Room (Level 41)
— Alchemy (Rank 2)

Unused Experience Points: 14,365,978

By fighting and killing monsters myself, I’d earned less than I expected — just over 50,000 experience points. For my level, that was almost laughable, a drop in the ocean. Yet by merely assisting Rhem, I had gained vastly more. Well, no point overthinking it. Nine more days of rest ahead — we had already spent one night here.

This was a great inn. After breakfast, I shamelessly took a little extra food and water — just enough for a couple of meals. The staff didn’t even comment.

“Well then, time to get started,” I murmured.

The next moment, my body dissolved into the air, and I vanished from the inn room.

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Tired… A good bath and a hearty meal can really refresh the body. Of course, a health potion helps too, but that only heals physical wounds and fatigue. Mental exhaustion is different — no potion can remove it. Ten days had passed.

I opened my status window and couldn’t help staring. Watching my stats grow had become a unique pleasure. Every new number was a reminder that I was getting stronger.

Name: Alisar
Level: 118 (0 out of 145,000,000)
Rank: 5

HP: 21,770 + 14,400
MP: 55,220 + 64,800
Strength: 743 + 480
Defense: 716 + 480
Speed: 718 + 480
Intellect: 1,854 + 2,160
Magic Power: 1,837 + 2,160
Magic Defense: 1,847 + 2,160

Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills: —
Special Skills:
— Training Room (Level 47)
— Alchemy (Rank 2)

Unused Experience Points: 19,978,051

I could say I was becoming addicted to this. Seeing my stats increase, watching the numbers climb — it brought almost physical satisfaction. Each new figure was proof that I had truly grown stronger, that all the effort had not been in vain.

On the other hand, progress in the Training Room was getting harder and harder. Each new level took more time and effort, as if the room itself was testing my patience. But the rewards made it worth it — clearing the forty-sixth level had given me six hundred million experience points. Yes, the rewards scaled with difficulty. The further I went, the more tempting it became. And the more dangerous it was to grow attached to that feeling.

As for my second skill — Alchemy — the progress here had been equally impressive. And that progress lay right before my eyes. On the floor, neatly arranged in rows, stood more than eight hundred Rank 2 potions.

At first I tried placing them on a small table against the wall, but there clearly wasn’t enough space. So I moved them all to the floor — at least that way, they wouldn’t fall.

But… there were too many. Even for me, it was overkill. I’d have to take some to the guild and sell them.

Well… sleep first. I was so tired I couldn’t even enjoy the sight of all that wealth.

The moment my head touched the pillow, the fatigue crashed down like a heavy wave, and sleep wrapped around me like a warm blanket on a cold night.